Turkish grocer Sok cuts IPO price, top shareholder to boost stake

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish grocer Sok Marketler cut the price of its initial public offering by a quarter on Wednesday and its top shareholder placed an order for another $100 million shares, moves designed to boost demand.

The cancellations coincide with a downturn in Turkish equity prices after shares reached a record high in January.

The lira currency has hit a series of record lows in recent weeks, reflecting widening concern about the central bank’s ability to rein in double-digit inflation.

Sok, a discount grocer whose largest shareholder is the investment arm of food giant Yildiz Holding, cut its IPO price guidance to 10-10.5 lira a share, one of its bookrunners said. The bookbuilding period was extended to May 11, it said.

It initially priced the IPO at 12-14.4 lira a share. That means Sok is likely to raise up to 2.3 billion lira ($537 million) in the listing, a discount of a quarter from the 3.1 billion lira that was originally the top end of its range.

A second bookrunner said the company’s top shareholder, Gozde Girisim, has placed “a further order” in the international bookbuilding for $100 million. Any shares acquired by it will be subject to a lockup of 18 months, it said.